Major IT Pitfalls To Look Out For

These days, technology is an essential staple in every business on earth. Although the creation and popularity of various pieces of tech in the past has initiated some massive leaps forward in every industry, they’ve also created a range of problems and risks. If your business is just starting out, then the last thing you need is a full-blown IT disaster. Here are some of the most common pitfalls you need to be aware of.

Deleting Data That’s Still Being Actively Used

You may be sniggering at this point, thinking that you’d never allow data that’s still in active use to be deleted. However, you’d be surprised how often data recovery businesses are called in to work on server networks or tapes that everyone says are out of use, but still contain active data. With streams of information constantly coming into and being wiped from your company’s infrastructure, it can be easy to wave data through without thinking. However, no one said that being a good business owner was going to be easy! Do your duty, and put checks in place to ensure that any data being deleted isn’t in active use.

Business owners failing to do everything they can to protect their valuable data is not only extremely risky, but also more widespread than you think. All too often, a business will hire some high-end data centre designers, start using the new server, and then fail to make sure that the IT department is informed about the valuable data that it’s started to handle. This can lead to negligence, failure to back up the company’s most important information, and a full-blown disaster in the worst-case scenarios. This brings me onto my next point…

Failing to Back Up Effectively

Various studies and surveys have shown that while most businesses do make a point of applying back up measures, those measures may not always be working effectively. Sure, you may have established back up procedures, and be following them in the everyday course of business. However, if you’re not bothering to test or verify the integrity of those procedures on a regular basis, then they could be inadequate or outdated for a long time without you knowing. As backup and security measures have become more and more sophisticated, so have the hackers trying to get around them. If you haven’t checked on your backup infrastructure for a year or two, it’s certainly time for a review.

Even the most minor fault in your IT security can cause total devastation. Critical data loss and all the expenses that come with it probably aren’t on your agenda, so make sure you’re setting high standards with your IT security policy, and making sure it’s thoroughly tested. Restrict administrator passwords to the people who absolutely need to have them, and make sure they’re changed whenever an administrator leaves, particularly if they’re fired. You’d find it hard to believe the amount of data loss cases that are down to disgruntled ex-employees!